![\"Russian](\"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/St-Basil-Cathedral-Moscow.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nBritish defense officials say they have practiced cyber war games that could shut off electricity in Russia\u2019s capital, the Sunday Times<\/a><\/strong><\/span>\u00a0(paywall) reports.<\/span><\/p>\n The measures are part of a wider range of strategies to hit back at an increasingly assertive Russia\u2014accused of interfering with US elections, cyberattacks on Western targets<\/a><\/strong><\/span>, and poisoning a former spy on UK soil\u2014without resorting to a full-blown nuclear attack.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIf they sank our aircraft carrier with a nuclear-tipped torpedo, what is our response? There\u2019s nothing between sinking their submarine and dropping a nuclear weapon on northern Kamchatka,\u201d one senior source told the Sunday Times. \u201cThis is why cyber is so important; you can go on the offensive and turn off the lights in Moscow to tell them that they are not doing the right things.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Military planners are looking for options if Russian president Vladimir Putin tests NATO\u2019s resolve by\u00a0seizing small islands belonging to Estonia, taking control of Libya\u2019s oil reserves, or using\u00a0\u201dirregular forces\u201d to attack troops, according to the report.<\/span><\/p>\n British troops also recently held their biggest military exercise in 10 years, which included six navy ships and more than 5,000 troops in the Omani desert, to prepare for a confrontation with unconventional Russian forces like those used in Crimea. Cyber weapons are seen as a potential deterrent and a way to avoid a direct military confrontation.<\/span><\/p>\n UK defense chiefs are talking up their cyber prowess after a string of alleged Russian hacker exploits, including revelations last week of a Russian computer attack on the\u00a0international chemical weapons watchdog<\/a><\/strong><\/span>. The attempted hack was disrupted by Dutch military intelligence with the help from British officials. Also last week, US authorities charged<\/a><\/strong><\/span> Russian\u00a0intelligence officers with seeking to hack the nuclear energy company Westinghouse Electric and anti-doping watchdogs.<\/span><\/p>\n The announcements suggest world leaders are pushing back against Putin\u2019s increasing aggressive cyber operations, which allegedly includes breaking into the control rooms of vital US electric grids<\/a><\/strong><\/span>\u00a0(paywall).\u00a0Russia, after all, has hammered smaller nations with its cyber weapons in the past. The country disabled computer systems for Estonia\u2019s parliament<\/a><\/strong><\/span>, broadcasters, and banks in 2007, according to the Times, and regularly disrupts Ukrainian banking and electrical systems.<\/span><\/p>\n